The U.S. Department of Justice was blatantly clear in its report last week
that the Portland Police Bureau's practice of training all its officers in
crisis intervention techniques -- adopted after the high-profile death in police
custody of James P. Chasse Jr. -- isn't working.

"During our investigation, we spoke with advocates who desired greater
inclusion, but were refused access to the curriculum and were not allowed to
attend training sessions," the federal officials said.

Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez found the bureau's tight control
over the training unwarranted and ineffective. He urged the Portland police to
set up what mental health advocates, retired and current Portland police have
advocated for years: a select team of officers with unique skills to serve as
the "go-to" police called out to de-escalate mental health crisis calls.

"There is growing evidence that a crisis team response is likely to result
in a better outcome and reinforce public confidence in policing," Perez wrote to
Portland Mayor Sam Adams.

The federal investigators also recommended such a team be led by a
"dedicated police-based crisis intervention coordinator." That appears to be a
direct snub to the civilian mental health expert Leisbeth Gerritsen, who has led
the police bureau's crisis intervention training under the past two chiefs.

Portland police used to have the very type of specialized program that
Perez is now seeking.

From 1995 to 2006, the bureau had a crisis intervention team consisting of
a select group of officers who volunteered for the work, reported to either an
officer or a sergeant and invited mental health consumers to participate in
their training. Bureau officials scrapped that and introduced a mandatory 40
hours of crisis intervention training for all officers by 2007.

U.S. Department of Justice finds pattern of excessive force at the Portland Police BureauThe Portland Police Bureau has engaged in a pattern of excessive force, particularly involving people with mental illness, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday. "While we have indeed identified serious deficiencies, we have reached a preliminary agreement to improve public safety and to ensure the Constitution is respected," said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas E. Perez.

The change came after the controversial 2006 death in police custody of
Chasse, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Chasse was chased, then
tackled by police after police thought he was urinating on a sidewalk in the
Pearl District. He died from blunt force trauma to the chest.

"Expanding the training to all the officers was welcomed at the time," said
Bob Joondeph, executive director of Disability Rights Oregon. "I don't think
anybody was clear about how effective it would be, but it was something."

Justice Department officials argued the bureau can't expect officers to
become proficient with a week's worth of training.

"The 40-hour crisis intervention training curriculum is not what makes a
specialized crisis intervention officer an expert in handling mental illness
calls," they wrote.

During the federal review, a Portland patrol officer told investigators
that his job was "to put people in jail, not to provide social services," the
report said.

Clearly, federal officials said, this officer would not be the appropriate one to conduct a welfare check on a person with mental illness.

The Justice Department officials blasted the bureau for failing to allow
community input on training curriculum, for preventing stakeholders from
attending the crisis intervention courses, and for abandoning role-playing by
officers during the class.

Bringing people with mental health problems into the crisis intervention
classes could help reduce officers' fears of people with mental illness, the
federal officials said.

"There does not appear to be good reason to deny reasonable access to a
crisis intervention course" to people with mental illness, family members,
advocates or mental health workers, the review found. "One of the most effective
ways to address the stigma of mental illness is to increase direct exposure to
people with mental illness."

Their training days are scattered over multiple weeks, they found, rather
than presented in one continuous week of class, which would be more effective.
The course also is given to new officers too early in their careers, federal
officials said.

Recruits often lack the maturity that experience on the street brings and
are not generally "ready to receive, absorb and implement critical information
about how mental illness calls need a different response than the more common
police calls."

Mental health advocates in Portland have spent years pushing for changes
like those recommended in the federal review.

The police bureau's move to mandatory training "basically X'd out the
community," said Beckie Child, a former executive director of Mental Health
America of Oregon. "When I would raise that issue, I would basically get
pooh-poohed."

Terri Walker, board president of the Multnomah chapter of the National
Alliance on Mental Illness, told The Oregonian in January 2011 that consumers of
mental health services were afraid to call Portland police because they
didn't know if they'd get an understanding officer familiar with their needs.

Retired Portland police Sgt. Karl McDade, who was the first coordinator of
Portland's specialized crisis intervention team, said the Justice Department
review hit the nail on the head.

"Since the police bureau eliminated the crisis intervention team, they've
had a continuing problem," McDade said Friday. "You cannot train police officers
coming out of the academy to deal with mentally ill people. They all want to
catch burglars and robbers."

McDade said he hopes the bureau follows the federal direction.

"The chief is a nice man, but in this area, he's made a mistake," McDade
said. "I think the chief and the mayor have to admit that and change course."

In the last year, Portland Police Chief Mike Reese repeatedly has defended
the bureau's approach to crisis intervention. In January, he called the bureau's
strategy "innovative and creative." In particular, he pointed to the mandatory
crisis intervention classes and the bureau's one-car mobile crisis unit, which
pairs one officer with a civilian mental health care worker.

Federal officials found otherwise. They noted that the one-car mobile unit
doesn't respond to crisis calls and is largely ineffective because its hours are
limited, noon to 10 p.m. four days a week.

Adams said he agrees with the Justice Department's criticisms. The mayor
said, though, that the specialized team recommended by Perez is not enough.
Adams plans to increase the number of mobile crisis cars, pairing specially
trained officers with Project Respond workers, who specialize in mental health
services. He also wants dispatchers to route certain mental health calls to
mental health providers instead of to police.

The chief is willing to put in place the federal recommendations on crisis
intervention training, his spokesman said.

"We believe we have had a valid perspective about how CIT should be
implemented," Lt. Robert King said. "But we are more than willing to see DOJ's
perspective and implement their recommendations."